Scoring machine



March 19, 1940.

C. E. FIDLER ET AL SCORING MACHINE Filed Oct. 11, 1938 Patented Mar. 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE 2,193,864 SCORING MACHINE Charles E. Fidler and Whiting B. Morse, Rochester, N. Y., assignors to Wm. B. Morse Lumber 00., Inc., Rochester, 'N. Y., a corporation of New York Application-October 11, 1938, Serial No. 234,428

7 1 Claim.

This invention relates to a scoring machine,

and has for its object to provide an efficient and practical mechanism for scoring or grooving sheets of material such as pressed board, wall board, and'other similar products, where it is desired to ornament such surfaces to simulate tile or to produce decorative effects. 1

One purpose of the invention is to afford a mechanism that will insure cutting grooves of uniform depth and width with reference to the surface of the material, and will avoid the irregularities that ordinarily occur due to warping or bending of the sheet undergoing treatment.

Heretofore the usual practice has been to arrange one or more cutting knives for opera-.

tion to'a preadiusted depth, and then hold the sheet of material against the knives by pressure suitably applied, but it has been found difficult to maintain such even pressure on the sheet at all parts so as to hold it uniformly against the knives and effect cuts of uniform depth and width, and this is accomplished in the present structure by a mechanism that maintains each one of a gang of knives in fixed relation to the surface of the sheet at the point of cutting, each construction and can be easily assembled and controlled, and which facilitates the adjustment, of each cutter, making it easy to adjust a series of cutters to obtain a number of grooves, all of the same depth.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide a construction by which a series of cutters y can be independently driven and controlled, while adjustment of each cutter support is provided for in the manner already outlined.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts that will appear clearly from the following description when read in. conjunction with the accompanying drawing, the novel features being pointed out in the claims following the specification.

In the drawing: t Fig. 1 is a plan View of a mechanism embodying a preferred embodiment of the invention;

,work-engaging portion or shoe Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1 looking'in the direction indicated,

and Y Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view,

showing one of the cutter supports and the adjustable cutter gauge carried thereby.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views, I indicates a fixed spindle mounted in stationary standards 2 and having arranged thereon a multiplicity of supports or carriers, each'of which is movably mounted on the spindle l for a pur-' pose that will appear presently, and has mounted in it a rotatable cutter.

In the structure shown, which is intended merely as illustrative of one practical embodi- 'ment of the invention, each of said supports ineludes end bearing portions 3 and 4, the bearlug-portion 3 being oscillatory on the spindle I, while the bearing portion. 4 carries a rotatable tool spindle 5 which carries at one end a tool head 6 with a cutter l suitably mounted thereon, and at its other end a pulley 9 engaged and driven by a belt 9 which in turn engages a pulley III on a drive shaft H, the latter being suitably rotated by a belt 02 from a power shaft Hi.

The cutter 1 engages and produces a groove in the work piece orfsheet It as it is fed through on the table. It, and the desired uniformed depth and width of cut of the cutter l in the work is effected by a cutter "gauge adjustably mounted on the cutter support and engageable with the surface of the work sheet.

In the structure shown, each cutter support in- Ycludes a 'central or body portion I5, and the gauge or cutter controlling means includes a ll having a curved surface 18 for engagement with the surface of the sheet 14 to one side of and closely adjacent to the point of contact between the work and the cutter, said surface I8 being of concentric formation with relation to the cutter spindle 5.

The work-engaging portion or shoe I1 is connected by means of an inwardly extending portion [9 with an arm 20 which has a convexly curved or rounded portion or abutment 2! having rocking engagement against the undersurface of the body portion 16 and held adjustably thereagainst by the bolt 22 which passes through the 'body portion l6 and the arm 20, and has a head '23 engaging the lower surface of the arm 2i! and holding it against the body portion l6 while the upper end of the bolt 22 is retained by the nut 24. The outer end of the arm 20 is provided with a threaded opening to receive the retaining bolt 25 which is adjustable in said opening to move the end of the arm toward or from the body portion of the support, and thus move the workengaging surface l8 upwardly or downwardly with reference to the cutter to vary the depth of cut, the bolt 25 being held in its adjusted position by the nut 26.

With this arrangement, each shoe H can be readily adjusted to a nicety to obtain the desired depth of cut, and when once adjusted, cuts of uniform depth and width are assured, irrespective of any irregularities in the surface of the sheet, because the depth of cut at any given point always depends upon the surface l8, which moves upwardly or downwardly as the surface of the sheet may vary, and thus always maintains the cutter in such a position as to effect a cut of the same depth with relation to the surface of the sheet at the particular point.

In case it is desired to withdraw a particular cutter from operative position, each support has attached thereto a rearwardly extending arm 2? which carries a counterweight 28, and by pusi ing downwardly the outer end of the arm 27, and with it the counterweight-28, any particular cutter mechanism can be elevated out of operative position.

While the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment as shown, it is not confined to the details or precise arrangements herein disclosed, and this application is intended to cover any modifications or changes side of the forward end of said support and in juxtarelation thereto, a cutter gauge comprising a shoe at its forward end having a curved workengaging surface concentric with said cutter spindle and located directly under the forward bearing portion and in juxtarelation to the cutter, a vertical connecting portion integral with said shoe, and an arm integral with and arranged angularly to said vertical connecting portion, said arm extending rearwardly from the connecting portion immediately under said body portion and including an enlargement on its upper side which is rockingly supported against the undersurface of the front end of the body portion, means retaining said arm oivotally against the body portion, retaining means adjustably connecting the rear end of said arm to said body portion and accessible for adjustment at the upper side of the body portion, a drive shaft, driving connections from said shaft to said cutter spindle, said driving connections being located on the opposite side of the forward bearing portion from. the cutter, and a counterweighted arm mounted on said support and extending rearwardly therefrom. CHARLES E. FIDLER. WI-HTING B. MORSE. 

